Pure Blood in Cold Heart
by Lucky Snitch
Summary: Hide... betray... deceive. Anything goes when no one is innocent and everyone has a secret to protect. Lucius Malfoy is in his 7th year at Hogwarts. Voldemort his gathering supporters. The year where the Dark Forces rise - a year they won't forget.
1. Intro

When there is more to Love and Hate  
  
Intro - Halloween  
  
The night grey sky was cloudy, though not rainy. The last days of October had been windy and cold, but that night only a gentle breeze rustled the leaves on the Forbidden Forest in the distance.  
  
An owl, here and there, a howl, far far away, and muffled giggles from the direction of the rosebushes was all one could hear. Nothing else disturbed the peaceful silence.  
  
But under that same cloudy sky, inside Hogwarts Castle, a big noisy party took place. Although the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall reflected the grey night outside, nothing else looked remotely alike the silent and cold breeze.  
  
For one, the Great Hall was filled with noisy students and even noisier skeletons who played some merry melodies in a stage in front of the four house tables. Secondly, it was warm and the air smelled like pumpkin juice and warm muffins. And finally, there was this cheer happiness in the air that was difficult to wipe out of the grins and smiles across the faces of the students. And of the teachers.  
  
Professor Dippet was particularly happy that night. He had planned for a memorable Halloween party that year. He had decided that it would be his last year as Hogwarts Headmaster. He felt his body asking for retirement but he had promised himself he would give these students a year to remember. And the Halloween party was just as beautiful, colourful and delicious as he had wished. And he could see his students were enjoying it as much as he was.  
  
All students. except for one. She was the picture of sadness and grief. A tall blond 16 year old girl, holding a butterbeer in her hand, gazing at the entrance door as if expecting something to happen. Her blue eyes scanned the door and even beyond it and her pointy pale face looked even paler. She was the saddest girl to ever hold a butterbeer.  
  
"Narcissa" said a younger girl next to her.  
  
"Huh?" said the blonde witch, without taking her eyes off the door.  
  
"Narcissa, look at me." insisted the girl.  
  
"What, Bellatrix?!" asked Narcissa suddenly enraged, looking at her younger sister.  
  
"Do you want another butterbeer?" asked Bellatrix. She had blue eyes just like her sister, and straight waist long black hair. Although two years younger, she was already as tall as Narcissa.  
  
"No." answered Nascissa, looking at the door again. "Yes."  
  
"Yes," said Bellatrix, taking the glass from her hand. "I thought you might."  
  
"I wish you would stop with that annoying 'look at me' habit." mumbled Narcissa just as Bellatrix turned to leave.  
  
"You know I hate it when people don't look me in the eye." she answered with a rather piercing look and left.  
  
***  
  
Lucius Malfoy entered the Great Hall smiling like only he knew how to smile. He spotted Narcissa's eyes right away but chose to ignore them and moved to the other side of the party to help himself of some butterbeer. He knew her eyes were following him closely, but he didn't care. He always loved it when a female couldn't take her eyes off him.  
  
"Lucius" said Bellatrix when she saw him coming in her direction "Narcissa is looking for you."  
  
"I know." he said smiling and taking a glass of butterbeer from the table.  
  
"Where were you?"  
  
"Will you tell your sister?" he asked with a wink.  
  
"Of course not." said Bellatrix, narrowing her eyes. "Even if she is a spoiled brat I would never tell her something that could hurt her."  
  
"Would you not?" he smiled, drinking slowly. And noticing she was still looking at him, he asked "How do you know it would hurt her anyway?"  
  
"Oh, Lucius, when will you see that I'm not a child anymore? I can see it in your eyes. I don't even need to ask you. I have a pretty good idea." She noticed he was smiling wickedly in the direction of the Great Hall entrance. She shot a quick look and laughed. "I knew I didn't even have to ask."  
  
There was a red haired girl looking slightly pink in her cheeks who was just coming in. She looked directly at Lucius' eyes and grinned. Lucius looked at Bellatrix, who was turning to leave.  
  
"Near the rose bushes." he said casually "Where you would want to be with Rodolphus right now."  
  
"Go to hell." she said acidly and left.  
  
"Yes, and I'll see you there." he smiled back, drinking his butterbeer and ignoring both girls who were eyeing him now.  
  
He walked slowly towards the Ravenclaw table, where he had spotted Andromeda and Alexandra deeply absorbed in conversation. He approached them casually, but they stopped talking as soon as they spotted him.  
  
"Oh, please, Andromeda, go on." he said, stopping only when he reached them. "I'd hate to spoil your chatting."  
  
"Go to hell, Malfoy." she answered.  
  
"Everybody seems to want me there today."  
  
"Maybe that's because you look good together."  
  
"Andromeda, you're getting soft." he said seating next to the girls. " You actually said I look good. Don't let that mudblood lover of yours find it out. He might get jealous."  
  
Alexandra chuckled.  
  
"What is it, Alexis? Did I say something funny?"  
  
"My brother? Jealous of you? Could there ever be anyone who could be jealous of a peacock like you, Malfoy?"  
  
"I dunno. I'll ask your boyfriend in a couple of months." and he winked. Alexis shot him a venomous look. "I know." said Lucius, getting up "Go to hell, right?"  
  
"No, as it's most likely I'll be going to hell one day, I wouldn't want your company." said Alexis. "So I won't send you to hell. I'd rather tell you where you could stick your wand." and she smiled laconically.  
  
Lucius laughed and winked, walking in Narcissa's direction at last.  
  
"Shame you're a mudblood, Alexis." he thought "I do like your sense of humour." 


	2. Chapter I Body and Mind

Chapter I - Body and Mind  
  
A feeble morning light shone across the seventh year Slytherin bedroom, breaking through the fog and bathing one of the four-poster bed in a pale golden light.  
  
A seventeen-year old boy was laying in this bed, his light-blonde hair almost as bright as the sun rays, his pale face almost as white as the sheets he laid in. and his half closed blue eyes as cold as November rain.  
  
Lost in his thoughts, Lucius contemplated the foggy atmosphere outside, unaware of time or space. His mind was still at the Halloween party. His ears were not listening the silence of the empty room, but were still living in the echoes of the music if the Great Hall, the babbling and talking at the students' tables and the moanings of Cris back in the rosebushes.  
  
A grin crossed his face.  
  
Cris was a Ravenclaw prefect in her sixth year. She was also very pretty, besides of smart and shy - three features that always pleased him so. But she had, above all, the most important characteristic a girl could have: she was very fond of him.  
  
So fond of him that he knew he could ask her anything. even to leave the feast and her prefect duties for a night.hum. stroll.  
  
She was very much unlike Narcissa, his girlfriend. Narcissa was the kind of woman his (and her) family always wanted him to get married with. Their relationship was obviously very wanted. And he enjoyed her company as she was smart and beautiful. And the perfect match for his pure blood. But she was too strict about doing anything that meant rule breaking or anything out of the ordinary. And taking Narcissa to the rosebushes while everyone was at a party inside the castle was just not possible. Actually, taking Narcissa to any rosebush at any time was simply out of the question. She never understood that he needed adventure in his life. That he needed to test his limits, that he needed the power he experienced when he knew that he was living on the edge and that nobody was going to get him.  
  
He had been born in the most aristocratic, disciplinary, strict family you could imagine. The Malfoys were seen with great respect in the wizarding community. They were rich, powerful and the noblest people you could think of. And Lucius, somehow, didn't quite fit in these standards. He was rich and he was powerful, but he was a lot more than that. He was thirsty for the other kind of power, the power that doesn't come with money, but that comes with knowledge. That was why he was one of the best students in his year. And that was why he also wanted to enrich his life with experiences, for more far fetched or crazy, or even dangerous, that they might seem. Lucius was addicted to the pleasure of breaking the limit.  
  
And Narcissa, in that way, was exactly his opposite. She was limited to what people said was the right thing to do. She never kissed him passionately, even if their relationship had lasted for two years now. She had never been in the rosebushes. As a matter of fact, she had never been anywhere at all. He mentally shrugged: he would never ask her, anyway.  
  
She was not fit for those kinds of behaviours. Narcissa was a Black, and the Blacks were another noble wizarding family. And she had lived all her life expecting to get married to a wizard of a noble family, like him. Marry, constitute a family and live up to their name. A Black just couldn't lie down at rosebushes.  
  
And that was why Cris existed in his life. Well, Cris, Amy, Joanne, Luciana. you name it, he thought with a wicked smile. Slowly getting up (the thought of such a filled life had returned him his strength) he headed to the bathroom where he took a quick shower while the images of all those Hogwarts (and non-Hogwarts) girls streamed through his mind.  
  
And he had to admit, standing naked in front of the mirror, with his wet white skin, his light blonde hair, his blue greyish eyes, his handsome face with strong male features as his long and sharp nose, as well as with almost female features such as his thin eyebrows and sensual eye line. he had to admit that if he was a girl he would fall at his feet as well. He admired his chest, a proper Quidditch player chest, with muscles just in the right amount to still be able to fly graciously; his arms, strong enough to hold his broom in sharp turns and yet so gentle when he held a woman; his abdomen, fit and always ready to feel a girls kiss; his buttocks were almost feminine, with a soft skin that called for touch and his-  
  
"Oh, Lucius" said a male voice, as another boy walked in. "You'd better get dressed or I'll fall in love with you as well." and he pretended to kiss him in the air.  
  
"Shut up, Rod." said Lucius with a scowl.  
  
"Yeah, well, if you hadn't been admiring yourself all morning you had been able to show up at breakfast at decent hours so we could go now to Quidditch practice. Nice captain we have in you. Not even showing up in time for practice."  
  
"I said eleven. And it's only ten thirty. Besides, I never eat that much at breakfast. You'll see me in the Quidditch pitch at eleven."  
  
"I hope so," said Rodolphus, exiting the bathroom, followed by Lucius "we haven't made you captain for your good looks, you know?"  
  
Lucius scowled again and started combing his hair and fixing it in the nice ponytail he always had.  
  
Rodolphus never quite understood all this aristocratic look on his friend, so he merely shook his head with a smile. Lucius was one of those people who had been kept in a golden cradle all his life, a luxurious and aristocratic life, surrounded by house elves and richness and power. He would never understand that the world goes on spinning even if he had his hair in a total mess (like his, Rodolphus thought with a grin). And as he was about to leave, Rodolphus threw Lucius some robes, saying "Oh, Lucius, do get dressed. I'm not made of iron, you know?" and he grinned and left quickly before Lucius could Accio something in his direction. 


	3. Chapter II Quidditch Practice

Chapter II - Quidditch Practice  
  
When Lucius arrived at the Quidditch pitch the other players were already there waiting for him. He looked around. You could hardly see the goal posts in the foggy weather.  
  
"Well, boys" he said "I don't know if we'll have such a morning like this next Saturday. I could tell you, but I don't have Divination" a few of the boys chuckled "so we'll just have to do our best. Ok, enough crappy talk. Mount your brooms!"  
  
The boys mounted their brooms and kicked off the ground. Lucius opened the wooden box where the balls were kept, took the Quaffle and kicked off ground too.  
  
He loved the feeling he always had when he mounted a broom. He flew around in the fog for a couple of minutes and shot a goal right through a loop. Flying around another loop, he caught the Quaffle before hitting the ground and joined the rest of the team.  
  
"Higgs, release the Snitch and I hope I can hear in an hour's time that you caught it at least ten times. Travers go to your goal posts. We'll be shooting at you in a moment." Both boys left in their brooms. He turned to the remaining team. " Black, Lestrange and I will be practicing Hawkshead Attacking Formation."  
  
"What about us? In this fog-"  
  
"I'll release the Bludgers also" said Lucius interrupting Baddock. "You and MacNair will practice as usual." His blue eyes stared right into MacNair's "I am trusting you in this fog. Don't fail me."  
  
MacNair grinned and dived to let the Bludgers free.  
  
Lucius, still with the Quaffle, nodded to Rodolphus and Bellatrix and the three of them began practice. Bellatrix was the only girl in the team. With her persistence, she had tried yet again this year to make it to the Quidditch team and Lucius finally gave in. It wasn't as much as she wasn't a good player, rather the fact that she was a girl and he didn't trust her much.  
  
But she had shown her skills during practice and now he was confident she had been a good choice. In fact, he had never played in such a perfect Chaser team. They played as if they knew each other's thoughts.  
  
Half way through practice the fog lifted a bit and near noon they could see all the Quidditch pitch and the standings, where some students had come to watch. During all practice Lucius reminded them why he was the captain, leading the team in inumerous moves and personally supervising every player at the time. And when practice was over, he felt stronger and more alive then anytime during the last week. They should practice more often, he thought. At least he should practice more often. It made him fell too good.  
  
"I am pretty sure we have a winning team here" he said, when they all landed "but I still want us to practice at least once more before our match next Saturday."  
  
"The Hufflepuffs are no match to us" said Travers.  
  
"I hope not" said Lucius "but we can't get lazy. And if the match outcome was already decided before the game, nobody would need to play. So keep in mind that, though our team is superior, I don't want anyone celebrating victory before June." And he eyed each of them in turn.  
  
"Right as always, Lucius." said Bellatrix when he looked at her.  
  
"Thank you, Bella."  
  
"My name is-"  
  
"Thank you, Bellatrix" corrected Lucius. "I'll see Prof. McKinnon and book the pitch for this week's practice."  
  
And everyone left for the locker rooms while Lucius hurried to catch the Flying Teacher before lunch. On his way back to the lockers, he found Rodolphus hand in hand with his girlfriend, Alice.  
  
"Rod, I booked the pitch for Tuesday and Thursday for 4 o'clock."  
  
"Sure, Lucius."  
  
"How is the team going?" asked Alice. She was a round faced girl with brown sweet eyes and the voice of an angel.  
  
"I think we will beat you easily." said Lucius. "Your Rodolphus here is doing quite a job."  
  
"Poor us." she said, smiling. "Please, show some pity on our dear Hufflepuffs."  
  
"I'll think about that, just for you" said Rodolphus, putting his arms around her. "But if we win, I'll have an excuse to hold you and make it up for the terrible outcome of the match."  
  
Alice smiled as her face turned slightly pink. Lucius caught the cue and left the two lovers be. A few steps after them, he encountered Bellatrix, who was also making to the castle, after the loving couple.  
  
"Good practice today, Bella." Lucius said before she could get past through him.  
  
"Ah-ahn." she said, still looking into the distance. Though she had stopped, she didn't seem aware he was there.  
  
"Listen, I booked the pitch-"  
  
"I heard you. I'll be here, don't worry." and she tried to get pass him.  
  
"You heard me?!" he asked in mock outrage. "And may I wonder what were you doing listening to other people's conversation?"  
  
"Yes," she said, finally turning to him and smiling "you may wonder."  
  
And without another word she passed by him and headed for the castle.  
  
Lucius shrugged. Bellatrix had a crush on Rodolphus almost since she first came to Hogwarts. Strangely enough, no one ever seemed to notice besides him. Everyone thought she was plain weird and even Narcissa had trouble in reading her sister's feelings through her eyes. Lucius seemed to be the only one who could see something of her soul just by looking at her expression. And what he could see there made him uncomfortable. Unlike the others, he never thought Bellatrix was weird. She was just too different from everyone her age. She was too cunning. And she was also too instinctive. That was one of the things he didn't trust about her. She was so intelligent and yet she let it all be run by her heart.  
  
And around Rodolphus she was even more temperamental than usual. "Oh, no" would say Narcissa "Bellatrix is just a child. How could she have a crush on your friend?" And yet, there it was, on those eyes, firing flames of hatred towards Alice, clear to anyone who would care to see.  
  
Truth be told, he also couldn't understand what Rodolphus saw in Alice. She was too good, too perfect, too sweet.  
  
"Diabetically sweet, if you ask me" thought Lucius. "Why do you date her?" had he asked again and again to Rodolphus.  
  
"Why? Isn't she a perfect angel?"  
  
A perfect angel. Geeesh. What was that all about? Opposite's attraction, he always said to himself. No other possible explanation.  
  
"Is everything ready?" he heard a female voice from the girl's lockers just as he was stepping out of the boy's.  
  
Whose team would that be? he wondered.  
  
Hufflepuff ?, he thought with a smile, casually leaning closer to spy.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" asked another voice.  
  
Ravenclaw, he thought. He had recognised Alexis' voice.  
  
"What else can I do?" he heard the first girl's muffled voice.  
  
"It can be dangerous. I told you-"  
  
"For Merlin's sake!" said the other, suddenly furious. "I thought you wanted to help us! But if you're getting cold feet-"  
  
"I am not getting cold feet!" answered Alexis. And in a much quieter tone, she added "Jesus, you really are a Black sometimes!"  
  
"I'm sorry." said the voice Lucius could now recognise as Andromeda's. "It's not been easy for me."  
  
"I know. But we'll manage. The potion is nearly ready. If you really choose to go with this through-"  
  
"I do."  
  
"Then full moon is this Friday."  
  
"Then it will be this Friday. Have you chosen a place yet?"  
  
"And what the hell are you doing here?" asked a voice from behind Lucius. He quickly tried to look innocent (even though he was now so close to the door that it was clear he had been spying) but before he could answer, Lynch, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain (and Seeker) knocked at the girl's locker and cried "Are you ready yet? We really want to get started!"  
  
"Hi-ho, Captain!" mocked Alexis.  
  
"I heard that!" he said, turning to go to the pitch.  
  
The girls giggled and Lucius quickly got to his locker room before the two Ravenclaw Chasers could see him.  
  
And after they left, he slowly returned to the castle lost in thoughts.  
  
The girls were clearly up to something both dangerous and illegal. He ginned. This was one kick he wouldn't miss for the world. He had 6 days to find out what the girls were up to. and to join them in their mischief. 


	4. Chapter III Chasing the Chasers

Chapter III - Chasing the Chasers  
  
Lucius spent the next days trying to follow Andromeda and Alexis everywhere they went but, being the popular boy he was, the task proved to be a bit more difficult than he expected.  
  
Another problem was following Alexis.  
  
He could easily find Andromeda between classes, but she was often alone, thought with a double set of books. A few minutes before the end of the break, Alexis would join her, usually would ask her if she was ok, and then they would pick their books and head for next class.  
  
He concluded from this that Alexis was indeed in the final preparation of a potion and that she went to check on it regularly, usually right after class. But to find out where she was hiding it would be tricky. He had to catch her right after the end of a lesson. He had had a chance on Tuesday, after their Potions lesson, one of the few they shared, but Alexis went straight to Andromeda and they chatted about clothes for the whole break. He also had the feeling she was getting suspicious. Or maybe just paranoid, but she often caught his eye before he could look the other way and it was getting more and more difficult to get closer.  
  
Andromeda seemed to be getting more nervous with each passing day, and the dark look the girls sometimes exchanged had a note of uneasiness that they couldn't shake and that excited Lucius imagination.  
  
Finally, on Thursday morning, tired of watching over and over the same things without ever coming closer to the truth, he decided to skip a class to be able to follow her. They had only two more classes together and if the week's scenario was repeated, he would never know what was happening. And so he didn't show up at Arithmancy and instead went to spy on the Care of Magical Creatures outside, where he could see MacNair, Andromeda, Alexis and Arthur Weasley among the other students.  
  
He peered closer. No, actually he couldn't see Arthur Weasley. But he should be there in class. What had happened to him?  
  
"Are you looking for something?" asked Arthur's voice from behind him.  
  
Lucius turned around slowly.  
  
"Why, it's our Big Headboy."  
  
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" asked Arthur, suspiciously.  
  
"Well, I was wondering the same thing."  
  
"I came to collect these" and he showed Lucius some strange brown leaves he had brought from the outskirts of the Forest.  
  
"What a coincidence." said Lucius with the same smooth smile. "So did I. Can you tell me where to find them?"  
  
Arthur frowned.  
  
"You came to collect Licca leaves for some class?"  
  
"Yes, potions." said Lucius.  
  
"Well, then you'll find Licca leaves over there" and he pointed to a reddish bush twenty feet away. "These are Lucilla leaves."  
  
Lucius narrowed his eyes. He had always been terrible at Herbology. Arthur was smiling and seemed to be waiting for him to go.  
  
"Shall I help you, Lucius?"  
  
"No, Arthur, that won't be necessary."  
  
"Should I report you then?"  
  
"No need. I'm in too much of a hurry to collect the, uh, Licca leaves for Potions."  
  
Arthur smiled again. But he only turned around to return to his class when he saw Lucius far away near the reddish bush.  
  
***  
  
"Hell, Weasley!" he kept saying while collecting the Licca leaves. "Hell, hell, hell!" He also said some other things and called some names to Mrs. Weasley, but which I will have to omit due to large audience age-profile.  
  
He tried to stay and collect the leaves as slowly as he could, to stay until the end of class. But after twenty minutes of taking leaves out of a tiny bush, for as much as you may take to do it, the bush just doesn't have much more to give. And Lucius didn't want to raise up an alarm by leaving it completely empty, so from then on he just pretended and went on waiting for end of class.  
  
He couldn't see the class from where he was, as the bushes behind which he had hidden to spy stood there in-between. But he was hoping he could see them leaving class, since they would surely take the way he had taken to return to the castle.  
  
It had been nearly an hour when he suddenly remembered they may not come out of class from that side since it was the last class before lunch and there was a quicker way to go to the Great Hall. And it was so obvious now that it would happen that he decided to risk a closer look again. Right at that moment, Alexis, looking back apprehensively, showed up from behind the bush he had been hidden. She had walked a few paces before she looked ahead again and noticed Lucius. And it was unquestionable where she was going and how surprised (and alarmed?) she was by seeing him there. She tried to change route, but must have decided that it looked even more suspicious, and so she walked straight to him.  
  
"Malfoy" she said when she reached him "Andromeda told me she needs to talk to you."  
  
"Did she?" Lucius frowned. He did not expect this approach at all. He thought she would simply deny she had a clear objective in going there. "And why didn't Andromeda come and see me herself?"  
  
"It is a personal thing. It concerns her sister."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Well, Narcissa, naturally."  
  
"Did she?" he eyed her suspiciously.  
  
"Yes." And after a moment, she began to look impatient. "So? Are you coming with me?" Lucius noticed she kept glancing at something behind him.  
  
"Sure. Let's go see Andromeda then."  
  
They started walking slowly to the castle. He noticed as they passed the bush that everyone had gone and that he had been right in thinking they had left by the other side.  
  
"And, how did you know I was here?"  
  
"I saw you."  
  
"Oh, I thought I had been discreet."  
  
"You don't know how to be discreet, Malfoy."  
  
"I will prove you wrong one day." he said smiling. And if it weren't for the fact that it would ruin everything, he would show her right now how he had been spying on them without her knowledge.  
  
"I've known you for seven years now, Malfoy. Do you really think there is something you could do that could make me change what I think about you?"  
  
"Why don't we let time be the judge of that?" and he looked at her a bit more intensely. Alexis was about to answer when she saw Andromeda looking very worried at the sight of the two of them. Alexis reassured her with an imperceptible gesture and said: "Andromeda, I found Lucius for you. Didn't you have something to talk to him? About your sister?"  
  
"Oh, yes" she said, looking at him and suddenly noticing where they had come from. "Please, let's go to a quieter place."  
  
Lucius stood there for a moment. He felt like blowing their whole game right now, make them show him what they were hiding. But he was too curious about the outcome and he didn't want to spoil everything now. He ended up smiling and following Andromeda far far away from the Forest. Alexis didn't move until they were out of her sight.  
  
"So, what do you want to talk to me about Bellatrix?" asked Lucius.  
  
"The thing is... where to start... You know she is only a girl and maybe this Quidditch thing is a bit too much for her."  
  
"Is it?" Lucius grinned while thinking to himself "You are one damned liar, Miss Alexis. And with guts, too. But I'll get you in the end..."  
  
And for almost twenty minutes, the time that took Alexis to rejoin them, Andromeda spoke about Bellatrix and Quidditch as if they were her absolute priorities in life. 


	5. Chapter IV Prettyboy and Headboy

Chapter IV - Prettyboy and Headboy  
  
When Lucius entered the Great Hall Friday morning for breakfast the first thing he saw was Arthur at the Slytherin table making some very severe remarks at some second-year boys.  
  
Arthur was Headboy and Lucius resented that very deeply as he always knew the title would have to be chosen between the two of them. The fact that a Weasley, and very particularly, that Weasley had beaten him was a thing he was still fighting to accept. He had always been very practical. He believed that we must accept the things we cannot change... at least for the moment. But it was costing him every strength he had to be able to talk to Arthur in a civilized manner instead of pulling his wand out and curse him right then and there.  
  
He and Arthur had almost been good friends. They had actually come aboard the Hogwarts Express together on their first journey. Lucius was holding a grudge against the relatives he had in Hogwarts (a couple of cousins) and Arthur was feeling very lonely because his older brothers didn't want to hang around him and just left for another compartment. There was a strange connection between them from the start. Somehow, they just started talking about their fears and expectations towards their first year. Lucius was a very confident boy, but he was as eager to learn as Arthur, and the journey was a very pleasant one.  
  
They shared the same sense of awe as they travelled in the boats towards the castle, they experienced the same anxiety as Prof. McGonagall told them about the Sorting Ceremony, and they both seated for no more than 3 seconds in the stool before the Sorting Hat cried their Houses. Slytherin... and Gryffindor.  
  
That should have told them right away that there was no way such different and strong characters could survive a friendship, but that didn't keep them from doing homework together at the Library and joining in snow fights during all winter.  
  
But with few lessons in common and a lot to learn, their friendship didn't have much room to develop. And as they finished their first year meeting such few times, Arthur decided to invite Lucius to spend some days with him during the summer holidays, back at his house. That was the second sign they should have read.  
  
Arthur was poor, while Lucius was so rich it had never occurred to him that people could actually live in houses with less then 10 rooms. And the Weasley family didn't have house-elfs. Which was something Lucius found absolutely insane.  
  
At first, Arthur tried to make it up for his rich friend by showing him around the village where he lived. And although they could fly and play one to one Quidditch in a very cool clearing near his house, everything else just bored Lucius to death.  
  
The third sign they should have noticed about their impossible friendship was that Lucius decided to end those tedious days by inviting Arthur to join him at the Malfoy Manor for a few days as well.  
  
Arthur wasn't used to such wealth and he made a fool of himself on some occasions like the old classical blunder of not knowing which fork matched which knife, which made Lucius blush in embarrassment.  
  
But even thought those signs were clear from the beginning, another thing that was clear was that they could not be simply indifferent to each other. Not even now, when they were as different and as unfriendly as they could get. True friends, or true enemies, Lucius and Arthur always had something to say to each other.  
  
And, as expected, even though Arthur was just leaving when Lucius reached the table, the Weasley could not resist a "Good morning" sarcastic smile, together with "And how was Potions class yesterday?"  
  
"Good, thank you." replied Lucius, rather coldly. "How was your caring for magical beasts?"  
  
"Wonderful. And it's caring of magical creatures."  
  
"Actually, I was talking about that red-haired that follows you everywhere."  
  
Arthur blushed to the hears and opened his mouth to reply. But he was Headboy and he knew he couldn't do it in front of other students. That was another difference between the two of them that very early started breaking their friendship. Arthur was as cool as Lucius, but he could never get so low and especially when other things were at stake.  
  
"Changing subjects, you know Molly, my girlfriend, I don't know if you've met her?" Lucius smiled to himself "Nice try..."  
  
"Yes, I might have even mentioned her a couple of times." said Lucius casually.  
  
"Yes, well, she had Potions yesterday too. Right before lunch. She doesn't remember having seeing you in her classes..."  
  
"Well, I didn't say I needed it for that class. Actually, I was just doing some homework."  
  
"Or a Potion for yourself, maybe? Because she told me Licca leaves are rarely used as ingredients in Potions."  
  
"Tell me about it" thought Lucius, who didn't even know what they were.  
  
"Actually, there was only one potion she could remember that needed it." said Arthur, suddenly raising his voice as he saw some Gryffindor girls passing by. "But I really hope you wouldn't need that kind of potion..." and he looked down significantly while the girls started to giggle "would you?"  
  
A few other girls laughed at the nearby Ravenclaw table and Arthur left, with a gracious smile before Lucius could even reply.  
  
Rodolphus, who had joined the girls in their laughs, took Lucius by the arm and sat with him at their table.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" he asked Rod, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"Sorry, Lucius, but that was a clear score. 10-0, my friend." and he winked. "You know, I should start a betting every time you and that Weasley meet."  
  
"Actually," said Lucius staring at his toast, suddenly very grumpy "it's 20- 0."  
  
"Well, I'm not counting the fact that he beat you becoming Headboy."  
  
"30-0 then." said Lucius "And thanks for reminding me of that."  
  
"Come on," said Rodolphus, patting his shoulder "don't let him get to you. Like you so wisely taught me: we must accept the things we cannot change. At least while we cannot change them."  
  
"I never thought you listened to me." he said, still staring at the toast as if trying to curse it with the eyes.  
  
"I don't. But the fact is... the winds are changing, my friend." Lucius lifted his eyes from the toast (who sighed relieved) and stared at him.  
  
"What the hell happened to you today? Did Alice finally-"  
  
"No no no no no, my friend, and don't bring Alice into this or I'll have to challenge you to a mortal duel."  
  
"You're really spirituous today..." Lucius remarked, rolling his eyes.  
  
Rodolphus leaned closer to Lucius and whispered "Brother Rabastan sent me another owl."  
  
Lucius looked at him very seriously this time.  
  
"He did?"  
  
"The winds are changing, my friend, and we're gonna take part in it." and winking again he took a toast and started humming happily. 


	6. Chapter V Friday

Chapter V - Friday  
  
Lucius left his Defence Against the Dark Arts class feeling very morose. It was a cloudy Friday, and he felt as gloomy as the sky for he still didn't have a clue on what Alexis and Andromeda were up to. He had, of course, checked every corner of the place where he and Alexis had met the day before, but she had obviously suspected something and moved the potion somewhere else. He was just starting to consider giving up on the subject, as he had to be quite alert for the Quidditch game the next morning, when he saw her crossing the lawn alone and looking a bit more fat than usual under her robes.  
  
Forgetting all about his next class, he followed her as discreetly as he could and he found himself leaving in the direction of the Quidditch Pitch.  
  
Following her in the whereabouts of the Pitch was much more difficult, as the surroundings were almost deprived of hiding places. But it was much easier to keep an eye on her as there were no places where he could loose sight of her either. His fear was that she would go far enough without him getting closer and loosing her when she turned somewhere over the hills beyond the field.  
  
He was looking at her crossing the Pitch, hidden behind the broomshed where they kept all Quidditch equipment. He saw her turning around to check if she was being followed and he hid behind the broomshed, hoping she hadn't seen him. A few seconds later, he risked looking again... but he couldn't see her anymore.  
  
He looked all around the lawn, the Pitch itself, the surroundings... and nothing. She was too far away from the locker rooms to have hide there so quickly. She should still be somewhere in the Pitch. But both the fields and the stands were empty.  
  
Puzzled (and frustrated) he came out from behind the broomshed and looked around once more. And there was no doubt. Alexis was nowhere to be seen.  
  
***  
  
He entered the Great Hall feeling even more morose. Where had she gone to? As he sat on the table, a hand taped on his shoulder. It was Arthur Weasley.  
  
"I heard you skipped another lesson, Lucius." he said with a suspicious look.  
  
"Yes, mum, I have." he answered rather sarcastically. "But I really don't see how that can be any of your business, Mr. Headboy."  
  
"I have to keep an eye on the students, remember? And you're starting to behave too strangely, even for you. What are you really up to? I'll be cursed if you ever skipped a class before."  
  
"And what does that prove?"  
  
"That you're up to something. And I don't like the sound of it. You usually keep trouble to yourself, but I'm pretty sure you're not alone this time."  
  
"No, Arthur, it proves that you need to get a life. I'm not the only one who skips classes, so why don't you go bother somebody else?"  
  
"No, I'm well aware you're not the only one. Miss Tonks has been missing in some classes as well. And she skipped Transfiguration today... like you."  
  
"Alexis?" and he tried to hide his sudden worries. He didn't want to bring Alexis into this. Arthur was too nosy sometimes and he certainly didn't want him to even imagine there was something going on before he could find out what it was. Especially because, since it seemed illegal, he would stop them and Lucius was now almost as anxious as the girls themselves.  
  
Right on cue, Alexis herself entered the Great Hall. She had obviously got rid of something (preparations for the full moon?) as she was again thinner. Arthur looked at her and Lucius saw that he was prepared to confront her as well.  
  
"Well, Arthur" said Lucius in a certain urgency but trying to remain his coolness "you wouldn't bother Alexis with this, would you? I thought we had been discreet... But it seems-"  
  
"What?" asked Arthur suddenly, looking at him again "You and Alexis?"  
  
"What can I say? It seems I didn't need that potion after all..." and he grinned very nastily. But he could see that Arthur was having a hard time buying that.  
  
"I can't believe you-"  
  
"Arthur, be a gentleman." he said "You wouldn't go bothering her, would you? It's all my fault. You know I am a bit... hum... over-enthusiastic with the ladies..."  
  
"I still think-"  
  
"Yes, I know. She does hide very well what she feels about me. I know she despises me in public, but I can guarantee that in private-"  
  
"Enough details, Lucius. Listen, if you're lying to me-"  
  
"Why would I lie? Why would I protect her?"  
  
Arthur still didn't seem convinced. But he just gave him a warning look and joined his fellow Gryffindors.  
  
Lucius sighed. Good thing Arthur was so naïve. How could he ever believe that Lucius Malfoy could roll in the grass with a mudblood? But as he seat down to have some lunch, Rodolphus sat next to him.  
  
"Lucius, where the hell have you been?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I heard that the Big Head was inquiring about you. Are you insane? We can't arouse suspicious at this moment!"  
  
"Relax, Rod. Arthur is a good person, and as all good people, he is naïve and trusting. Easily manipulated."  
  
Rod eyed him sideways.  
  
"I hope you're right, Lucius. But don't go spoiling it now."  
  
"I wouldn't think about it" he thought to himself. Although he had no idea where Alexis had been, he was now willingly sharing the secret with them, whether they wanted or not. And if all else fails, he thought, I can always blackmail about calling our Headboy into this. I'm sure they'd rather have an accomplice than suffer punishment or expulsion. 


	7. Chapter VI Full Moon

Chapter VI - Full moon  
  
By dinner time, Lucius was divided between giving up and plain blackmailing them. The first would be wiser, considering he had Quidditch the next morning and he had to be fit (especially because it had just started to rain and it might not stop that soon). But the later was much more appealing. It was obvious that everything was set. During all dinner, the girls kept unusually quiet, almost didn't eat anything and exchanged dark looks. When it seemed not-suspicious enough, Andromeda got up and shortly after was followed by Alexis. Lucius quickly left his table, leaving Narcissa talking alone for the tenth time that week.  
  
He followed them so silently this time he could hardly believe he wasn't a shadow himself. Alexis was extremely nervous, looking back much more often than during any time in the week. She approached a painting with a man seating humped looking far away and said "Puffskein". It was obviously the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. The man shrugged and said "Why not?" while the painting swung open, and she disappeared from behind it.  
  
Should he risk it? Should he go inside? Or should he just wait there?  
  
A reckless impulse took over him and he felt as his adrenaline rose when he said "Puffskein" to the hump man.  
  
"Sure... why bother?" answered the depressing painting, swinging open.  
  
He tried to listen, to make sure they weren't in the common room, If they were, he could still hide outside before they see him. He heard nothing but the rain drops taping in the windows. He peered. The room was deserted. But just as he entered he heard a voice from upstairs. He quickly took hide behind a curtain and heard the girls coming down the stairs.  
  
"Is it safe?" was asking Andromeda.  
  
"No one will bother us there." he heard Alexis answer.  
  
"But will I have to wait for midnight?"  
  
"You have to take the potion 3 times, one every hour. The charm has to be performed at the moon peak, which will be at exactly 4 minutes after midnight, according to your calculations, so I think we could get started around 10."  
  
"It's already 9. Maybe we should get going."  
  
"Ok" said Alexis suddenly very business-like "You know what to do, right? Right. So go ahead and I'll meet you there in half an hour or so. Oh, did you understand exactly where it is?"  
  
"Please say no." thought Lucius, desperate.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"Good luck then."  
  
Lucius heard the portrait opening again and seconds later the whole room was immerged in silence. He could hear the fire crackle in the fireplace. He could hear the rain outside. But he couldn't hear Alexis, thought he was sure she was still there. It took him a minute to be sure, when she coughed, but other than that she remained in silence. He peered behind the curtain and saw that she was reading an old and thick book. He noticed that it was from the library too, but he couldn't make out the title. She was chewing her nails and muttering some words. Then she looked at the clock and left. Lucius was about to leave after her when he heard someone walking in. And someone else right after, and more and more students started filling the room.  
  
This was starting to look not very good. He was still hiding behind the curtain, the common room was now filled with students, Arthur Weasley suspected he was up to something, he had Quidditch in about 12 hours and he still didn't know where the hell they were meeting!  
  
This didn't look good at all.  
  
He started getting very impatient. Everything was filling his mind. He couldn't concentrate to have a plan to escape. And half an hour later things hadn't improved. Some students had gone to bed but the room still had too many people. And it was getting late. He was getting so tired, confused, frustrated and annoyed he just wanted to get out of there and go to bed. It didn't matter anymore where they were. He was getting too tired for Quidditch, and that was his priority again. How had he forgotten about that?  
  
"Shame he dates that Narcissa." he heard among the talking of the students, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
"Yes, but I don't think he likes her all that much." said Cris' voice.  
  
Cris!, he thought. Of course! She could get him out of this. She was a prefect. All he had to do was draw her attention. But how?...  
  
"And how is he?" asked her friend.  
  
"A gentleman, of course..." said Cris. Lucius smiled. Of course he was. "He is very caring and gentle." Of course, he thought, rather proudly. "And he is so hansome." He took his wand out. "He shows me what he likes" he was going to draw a lightning-bolt in her friend's clothes, which was their code for meeting. "But he is a bit selfish." He stopped. What?!  
  
"Selfish?" asked the girl.  
  
"Yes. He just doesn't give me pleasure."  
  
"He doesn't?"  
  
What??!  
  
"No. Well, sometimes I've been this close, but then he just ruins everything."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
WHAT?? Why, you little ungrateful-  
  
"You know what I mean? He just thinks about himself. It's not like I'm that difficult, you know? And it's not as if he can't. He just... doesn't care."  
  
"Than why do you still see him?"  
  
"Because he's soooo cute. And I love the mystery he puts in our little datings, drawing that little lightning b-" and she noticed her friend had a lighting bolt shinning in her lap. Cris started looking around very quickly. The lightning bolt disappeared from her friend's clothes and appeared in the curtains behind which he was hiding.  
  
"Betty, would you mind getting me my book of Arithmancy from my room?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I think I can be more graphical with that book."  
  
"Weren't we talking about Malfoy?"  
  
"Will you go, please?"  
  
And a few seconds later she must have gone because Lucius heard a whispering near the curtains "Are you here?"  
  
"Yes, I am, and I would be very pleased that you could get me out of here."  
  
"But... what are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to see you, but since I can't give you any pleasure I think I might as well leave."  
  
"You... you came to see me?" and she looked very ashamed of the things she had said. Good, he thought, now I'm sure you will get me out of this. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean any of those things..."  
  
"Listen, just get me out of here. We'll talk about it later, ok?"  
  
"Ok. Let's see... I can create a diversion in the other end of the room. Then I'll use my prefect powers to-"  
  
"Sounds great. Now, hurry up!"  
  
Seconds later there was a loud bang and the smell of rotten fish came from the other side of the room. He heard her shouting "What the hell happened here? Who did this?" and in less than 5 minutes everyone was shouting and accusing each other. Lucius looked to see if it was clear for him to go. Cris was the only one facing him, everyone else was shouting and arguing with her and each other. She noticed the path was clear and suddenly pointed to somewhere behind her and shouted "What was that?" ("the oldest trick in the book?" Lucius thought) and everyone looked as Lucius escaped through the portrait.  
  
***  
  
As he headed to the Slytherin common room, Lucius wondered why had he given so much importance to a girl's business. It could be anything. It could be the most stupid thing in the world! Why had he tried so hard to find out?  
  
He would have a Quidditch game next morning. His fellow players should be in bed by now, or wondering where had he gone. He was sure that Rod, at least, should be awake, waiting for him. Maybe all the team was up, fearing that he might have been abducted by evil Hufflepuffs and held prisoner under the Quidditch stands, where they would tortu-  
  
Sh**it! Idiot! How could he have been so stupid? Of course Alexis had disappeared! She had gone under the stands!  
  
And suddenly, every thought about Quidditch just slipped his mind and he ran as fast as he could to the Pitch outside.  
  
***  
  
It was raining heavily now but Lucius didn't even noticed. He ran to the pitch cursing his stupidity and when he reached it he tried to rememeber where Alexis had been right after he had seen her disappear. It was over 11:30 but he was sure they must still be there. He recognised the spot and approached it very cautiously. And there it was, between two stands, a tinny entrance. He decided to look for another one, just to make sure he wouldn't bump into them, and a few meters away he found it. He crawled inside. He could see that just after the curve of the stadium there was a fire burning. It was much warmer inside too, thought not that dry, since some rain drops kept falling throught the wooden structure. He walked slowly and he saw the little fire burning, crackling with the water drops that fell in it.  
  
"It is time." he heard Alexis' voice.  
  
And as he peered from behind a wooden structure column he had chosen as a hideout, he saw the two grils in the firelight... and his jaw dropped.  
  
"What tha-" 


	8. Chapter VII Tegomorphus

Chapter VI - Tegomorphus  
  
An orange warm light filled the space, reflecting on the wooden walls of the Quidditch Pitch structure. The flames of the little fire that had been conjured rested at the far end of Lucius' vision field. He could see the stair-like ceilling rising above them and the drops of rain that still found their way between the wooden junctions falling on the ground, the same muddy earth ground of the pitch. There were two towels on the floor and a robe was hanging from one of the wooden bars that sustained the stucture.  
  
Another robe was over Andromeda's shoulders. She was now crouched in the corner of the fire, getting herself warm, bare feet over one towel and her hair wet and tangled. She was not dressed in the robe. Actually, she was not dressed at all.  
  
Lucius knew that because, when he first looked, Andromeda was just taking off her clothes. She had already unbottened her uniform's shirt and was undressing her skirt, with Alexis help.  
  
Taken by surprise, he had almost given himself away, but fortunantely the sound of the rain falling in the wooden ceilling had muffled his cursing. He sit back and tried to remeber if he had actually seen that or just imagined. When he looked again, Andromeda was already completely naked and Alexis was just putting her robes over her friend, who crouched by the fire and started humming, almost hypotyzed by the flames.  
  
Alexis was fixing her hair in a pony tail. She was dressed in the Hogwarts uniform as well and for moments he thought she was going to her clothes off too. But she meerly folded her sleeves by elbow-lenght.  
  
He let out air he didn't know he had retained. A part of him was very disapointed that she hadn't undressed as well, but a tiny obscure part inside him was actually thankfull that it hadn't happened. But he was too busy following every step Alexis took to try to understand his reactions.  
  
He watched as she walked over to a tinny cauldron at the other end of the space. Then she returned with a goblet and crouched next to Andromeda, saying "Come, we must start now."  
  
Lucius widenned his eyes. He could not miss this.  
  
Andromeda stood up. She was almost in profile. Alexis gave her the goblet and took Andromeda's robes while she drank. Lucius swallowed. Then Alexis left and came back with another cauldron he hadn't seen yet. She plunged her hands inside and when she took them they were gleaming silvery-blue. She approached Andromeda. They were face to face. Lucius swallowed again.  
  
And then Alexis started massaging Andromeda's belly. Very softly, very gently, she massaged her belly with the silvery-blue cream-like substance, spreading it all over her naked skin. Very slowly, Alexis hands circled, touching her friend with a gentleness he didn't suspect she had.  
  
He was feeling his body suddenly coming to life. Andromeda was very peaceful, though he could see she was also cold. Alexis fell to her knees, and added some more silvery-blue subtance to Andromeda's skin. Then she started spreading it to her thights. Then to her buttocks.  
  
Lucius was badly needing water. He felt he coudln't swallow anymore.  
  
Alexis took some more potion out of the cauldron and stood up again. Lucius could see her knees were muddy, as was the tip border of her Hogwarts' skirt. But what she did next completelly took out his last breath away.  
  
Alexis aproached Andromeda and touched her breast with the silvery substance. Then slowly, like she had done before, she covered Andromeda's breasts until the very tip. She had to do it repeatedly, has the few drops of water that fell from the roof kept uncovering Andromeda's skin again.  
  
When she had finished, she took her wand and looked at her watch. She seemed to be waiting for something. And suddenly she pointed the wand at Andromeda's breasts and said "Tegomorphus". The silvery-blue substance immediatelly changed to blood-red. She pointed it at her belly and repeated the spell, and then the same for her thights and buttocks. Andromeda was now covered in a blood-red liquid. They waited. Alexis was starting to feel nervous.  
  
"Outside, quick!" she said suddenly pushing Andromeda to where Lucius was hidding. He barely had time to hide more deeply in the shadows, but he had the feeling they wouldn't even notice. They were litteratelly shaking in stress. He heard them near the entrance from where he had come in and tried to look outside.  
  
And there they were, in the rain, Andromeda very quietly, watching Alexis pace up and down, nervously checking her watch and her friend's body. She seemed to be cursing under her breath and then, suddenly, the blood-red substance turned silvery-white, gleamed for a couple of seconds and disapeared into Andromeda's skin. Alexis was very still. They exchanged some words Lucius didn't catch and then Alexis gave a cry of joy and Andromeda jumped to Alexis arms, hughing her and kissing her cheeks in absolute happiness.  
  
Lucius felt like joining them in the rain outside. He certanly needed a cold shower. A very very cold shower. He saw them walking to the entrance again and then he heard their laughs and cheers as they passed by him again and stood by the fire. Andromeda quickly pulled out some robes over her. She looked freezing, though happy. They were both soaking wet. Alexis had her shirt completelly glued to her body.  
  
"I better take this to dry as well." she said, and hughed her friend once more.  
  
Lucius couldn't take his eyes off her. She took her shirt and her skirt and placed them near the fire. She dried her skin with one of the towels and took her robes from the wooden bar, but before she dressed it, she started dancing and singing around Andromeda. Finally, taking a deep breath, she dressed her robes and seated by the fire, next to her.  
  
"It's done." said Andromeda.  
  
"You still have one more potion to drink."  
  
"But the critical part is over" she sighed. "When I saw you at the rain, pacing and looking at the watch I really began to worry."  
  
"The celling must be too thick for the moolight to strike it's power. This damned weather didn't help either. And if the moon didn't touch the potion everything was ruined. Ten more seconds and I don't know if we would have made it."  
  
"You're the best, Alexis. Thank's for beeing there for me." and she hughed her friend.  
  
"Well, don't expect it to be cheap" said Alexis. "I sure hope you don't forget me when the time comes."  
  
Andromeda laughed like she didn't do for some time and they stood in silence watching the fire for a moment.  
  
Lucius decided he couldn't take it anymore and silently got out of his hideout to walk outside in the rain. Though now that he thought of it, it hadn't lasted more than ten minutes, the images of the two girls were stuck in his mind. He walked silently in the dark, feeling the rain on his head, on his shoulders, wetting his hands, soaking his robes... He really needed this cold rain to cool him down. He had just been throught the most intense ten minutes of his life. 


	9. Chapter VIII Slytherin vs Hufflepuff

Chapter VIII - Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff  
  
Lucius woke up with a thumping sound above him. He felt his whole body aching and shivering in cold. His robes were mostly wet from the rain that kept falling from sky.  
  
Thump!  
  
He opened his eyes suddenly. What was happening? He was still under the stands of the Quidditch pitch. It was morning already as he could see light coming in and-  
  
Thump!  
  
It must be late too! Those thumps were students starting to come into the pitch to watch the game. His game!  
  
He got up quickly and left the stands. He could see very few students in the pitch, and only two of them noticed when he came out of his hideout. He ran for the locker rooms. He could feel his left arm was numb. He had probably slept over it.  
  
When he reached the locker rooms, most of his team was already there.  
  
"Where the **** have you been, Lucius?" almost roared Rodolphus. "I've been awake all night, searching for you!"  
  
"I'm sorry" he said, trying to catch his breath. "I-"  
  
"You better be sorry! Narcissa has been impossible! Bellatrix made the mistake of telling her you haven't been in yet and she's like a maniac looking for you!"  
  
"Yeah, well, I-"  
  
"How could you leave your whole team in a big game's eve? That was completely irresponsible of you!"  
  
"Yes, well-"  
  
"Just get dressed before I show you my knuckles really close!"  
  
"Shut up, Rod!" Lucius yelled suddenly "I had a terrible night!"  
  
"If you hadn't sneaked away you wouldn't have had a terrible night!"  
  
"Hei hei!" came MacNair's voice "gentleman, calm down! The game is about to start in a few minutes. Can we argue after the game is over?"  
  
"We trained all week" said Lucius "We have the best team there is. Now stop nagging me, Rod!"  
  
And he dressed his Quidditch robes to join the others outside. ***  
  
The rain was still falling. Lucius was feeling sick. He hadn't eaten almost anything at dinner and the lack of breakfast now was starting to have its effects. He could feel his sugar level going down.  
  
Rod was still fuming whenever he looked at Lucius. But he didn't seem to care. As they walked to the pitch, to the enthusiastic applauses of the crowd of students, Lucius couldn't help but look at the place he had been that night.  
  
And the images of Alexis touching Andromeda's body kept bumping into his mind. They all kicked off ground. Bellatrix was looking at him sideways. Rod didn't even bother to look at him anymore. The other members of the team seem to eye him with concern. The whistle sounded and the Quaffle was released. He could hear the crowd cheer, he could see that Rod had caught the Quaffle and he tried to follow. But the rain and a sudden dizziness took hold of him and when he reached Rod and he passed him the Quaffle, Lucius was unable to catch it.  
  
Alexis hands softly touching Andromeda's skin, gently-  
  
"Lucius! What are you doing?" yelled Rod.  
  
Lucius opened his eyes again. He was flying almost against one of the goal posts. He was feeling his muscles aching, screaming for him to land. It took him all his remaining strength to be able to hold to his broom and turn around to where the rest of the game was happening.  
  
He heard a whistle. Rod had called time off. He met him and the rest of the team on the ground.  
  
He couldn't make sense of Rod's yelling and pointing. He heard something about score but his head was now pumping in a terrible headache.  
  
They all kicked off ground again and from that moment on everyone started ignoring Lucius and tried to play at their best. He couldn't remember afterwards how long it took for everything to finish, but it took too long, in his opinion. The whistle sounded again. Someone had caught the Golden Snitch.  
  
Lucius was so relieved that he could finally get some rest that he landed and immediately headed for the castle. But he never reached it on his own.  
  
***  
  
Alexis was softly spreading a blue substance in Andromeda's naked skin. He could see her shiver under the touch of her friend. Alexis suddenly stopped. She started looking around and spotted Lucius. He tried to hide, but she smiled and walked to him. She gave him her hand.  
  
"Come, Lucius." she said.  
  
He walked with her until they reached the cauldron with the blue potion. She touched the liquid's surface with a finger, and touched Lucius bare skin, drawing a lighting bolt in his chest. Then she kissed his neck, longly. Lucius could feel all his body shivering. She broke apart and this time plunged her whole hand in the potion. She touched his neck, his chest, leaving a bluish warm trace, and didn't stop until she reached his belly. She kneeled and-  
  
"Alexis" he moaned. He could feel a hand in his. He squeezed it. "Alexis."  
  
"I'm here" said a female voice "I'm here, Lucius."  
  
He opened his eyes suddenly. That wasn't Alexis' voice. That was-  
  
He looked up and saw Narcissa. She was smiling, though (it seemed) bitterly. Had she heard him?  
  
"I'm here, Lucius." and she squeezed his hand too.  
  
Lucius tried to get up. He was still feeling dizzy and his head was throbbing. He looked around. He was in the Hospital Wing. He looked questioningly to Narcissa. She passed her hand by his temple.  
  
"You're still so hot." she said "You have a fever. Mr. Ming says it's just a common cold and that you'll be up in one piece by tomorrow morning. He has this new potion from St. Mungos he says it's very efficient."  
  
"What... What happened?"  
  
"You were acting very strange during the whole game. No one knew what was wrong with you. Then the game was over and you walked away. Everyone thought that it was because we lost-"  
  
"We lost?!"  
  
"Yes," she said quietly. "I thought you knew..."  
  
"No, I was... I don't know what came into me."  
  
"The Hufflepuffs caught the Snitch. But they were winning anyway."  
  
Lucius was devastated. This was all his fault. Why had he been so ambitious? Why had he spied on the girls? He wanted to regret his decision... he wanted so badly to regret it. But deep down inside, he knew he didn't. He didn't regret a single moment of what he had lived last night.  
  
After a walk in the rain, he returned inside to see the rest of the spell. Andromeda drank the potion once more and then the girls gathered everything and left. He stayed for a bit longer so they wouldn't notice him and that's when he fell asleep. He had slept all night in the cold and rain. Now he was ill and he had lost the game.  
  
"And then" Narcissa said "you just fell on the ground. You just collapsed there. I was so worried. You didn't return last night. I knew something was happening. My heart was telling me." And she kissed his hands. He could feel she was shaking.  
  
"I'm... I'm sorry I've been ignoring you all week, Narcissa." he said, looking her in the eyes. She smiled weakly.  
  
"It's alright." she whispered "I know you always come back to me in the end." 


	10. Chapter IX Most Potente

Chapter IX - Moste Potente  
  
When Lucius woke up again it was nearly night. Mr. Ming was just by him.  
  
"Ah, Mistel Malfoy, I am happee to see you awake. How do you feel, ahn?"  
  
"I'm a bit dizzy."  
  
"Dizzy, ale you? He he. You will be no dizzy aftel this. Thesa new potion is milacle, ahn!"  
  
Lucius smiled. Mr. Ming was a japanese wizard who had come to Hogwarts by the hand of Prof. Dippet. In one of his travels to the Far-East, the Hogwarts Headmaster had fallen ill with a rare and life-threatening disease. It was Mr. Ming who had recovered his health and Prof. Dippet was so grateful (and so paranoid afterwards) that he made Mr. Ming an offer he couldn't refuse. And Mr. Ming, of course, didn't refuse.  
  
"Thesa flu... Vely bad fol students." Mr. Ming was saying, filling a spoon with a green-greyish potion. "Students go in lain, get cold, then get flu" Lucius took the spoon ("Yuuuuck!") "I have told Plofessol Dippet, I told 'im: Plofessol, thesa flu is a vely selious illness. Even yestelday a new gi'l came in ill, too, anh!" And he pointed at a bed in the far end of the ward. Lucius was still trying to unscrew his face. "But Miss Tonks is looking fal wolse than you, Mistel Malfoy, ahn."  
  
"Al- Miss Tonks is here?" Lucius asked suddenly.  
  
"Found lying in the flool in the Lavenclaw common loom. She is not leacting vely well to potion."  
  
And, shaking his head in concern, he left to take care of Alexis.  
  
Cris walked in a couple of minutes later. "Mr. Ming" she said "I have come to see on Alexis. How is she?"  
  
They exchanged a few words but Lucius saw that as soon as Mr. Ming left the room, she stood up again and headed to his bed.  
  
"Oh, my Lucius" she said, seating next to him and grabbing his hand so strongly it nearly squeezed him "My poor dear sweet Lucius. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Better, I guess." he released his hand. Oooutch... "What happened to your friend?"  
  
"Oh, I dunno. I just found her in the common room this morning, lying on the floor. She had a book by her side. Maybe she went to get the book and fell ill. I dunno."  
  
"A book?" he asked suddenly "What kind of book?"  
  
"An old, ragged, library book, I guess" she said annoyed, stroking his hair "But tell me how you feel."  
  
"Better, better" he said taking her hand from his hair "but was it a brown book with silvery letters-"  
  
"Oh, what do you care about the book?" she asked furiously.  
  
"Well, because I was just looking for a book like I told you. Mr. Ming said it could help me because there are some nice-"  
  
"Help you get better?" she asked, suddenly.  
  
"Yes. He said-"  
  
"How was the book, again?"  
  
"Brown old book, with silvery letters on the cover and a red drawing-"  
  
"And the name?"  
  
"Uh..." yes, Lucius, you idiot, what was the name? "I don't really remember... My head hurts..." and he made the most sweet puppy eyes. Cris leaned over him and stroke his head.  
  
"Poor Lucius. I will get you the book. It might be that one. It looks like what you described."  
  
"Oh, no really, my sweet, forget about the book. I'm just happy you came to see me."  
  
"Oh, no Lucius, if Mr. Ming says it can help you-"  
  
"No, please don't go. Stay here with me." And he looked with his puppy eyes again, but coughed a few times... and shivered for realism.  
  
"No, Lucius, you must get better. I'll get you the book. And I'll return, my dear." She stood up and blew him a kiss "I promise." And she left.  
  
"And don't forget the book." he smiled to himself. How lucky had he been. So, Miss Alexis had probably forgotten the book in the common room and decided that it was too dangerous to let it lay around. So she came back downstairs and grabbed it. But she was probably also feeling ill, spending so much time in the rain and in the cold, only with the uniform...  
  
And now he could explore the book and look for the wonderful spell he had witnessed. Now that the first impression had passed, he was anxious to see what was it all about. What was the spell and why do they need it with such urgency.  
  
He looked at Alexis at the other end of the ward. There was no one else in the Hospital Wing besides the two of them. He stood up and walked to Alexis bed. She was looking in fact worse than him. He touched her forehead. She was burning in fever.  
  
"What were you up to, Miss Alexis? Tell me..."  
  
She moved at the sound of his voice and instinctly grabbed his hand. Lucius looked puzzled for a while. He took his hand off her and looked at her frail appearance. He stood there watching her for longer than he intended. Then he walked slowly to his bed again.  
  
A few minutes later, Cris returned with the book in her hands.  
  
"Lucius, dear, I'm sorry but I can't stay." she said, handing him the book. "They need me at dinner time now at the Great Hall. But I promise I'll come to see you as soon as I can."  
  
"Oh, Cris, must you?"  
  
She kissed him and said "I must. But I'll come later."  
  
"Promise." he asked with a smile.  
  
"Promise, honey. I promise." and she left without a noise.  
  
Lucius was left alone in the silence. He looked at the book for the first time. "Moste Potente Potions". "Appropriate title" he thought, suppressing a grin. "It was potente, all right".  
  
He opened the book somewhere where it seemed Alexis was reading that night. But where to start? He knew the potion was blue and that there was a charm that had to be performed at midnight, Tegomorphus, but he didn't know either the name or the effect.  
  
Maybe Tegomorphus alone could help.  
  
"Tegomorphus, tegomorphus..." he passed the pages, looking for some sign of Tegomorphus in the innumerous potions of the book. It took him more than he expected and he was beginning to wonder how had they even found it in the first place. But finally, in a very damp-spotted page, there it was:  
  
"Tegomorphus - the concealment of changing forms  
  
This complex spell is the combination of a potente potion with a very sensitive charm which much be performed within a precise timing. One of the difficulties in obtaining success is due to these characteristics. When performed correctly, however, the spell will conceal the changing of a form for a whole moon cycle. its effectiveness is impenetrable by forth-degree transfiguration spells and below."  
  
"Uh? Conceal the changing of a form?" he asked bewildered. But he kept on reading.  
  
"The potion preparation takes one moon, while the spell must be performed under the full moon influence, necessary for the integration of the potion into the body. That is why it is critical to know when to perform this immense complex spell." It followed a list of ingredients and a receipt for two potions, which Lucius skipped in his anxiety to understand the implications.  
  
"After this preparation follows the spell itself. The person must drink the Tego potion 3 times: once before the full spell, once just before the spell and once after the spell. The first Tego is drunk one hour before the spell. At the time of the spell, the second Tego is drunk and the Morpheus potion is placed in the areas to conceal. The charm "Tegomorphus" is performed, with a firm wand pointing at the Morpheus potion covering the body. More than one area means more than one charm. The Morpheus potion will turn blood-red. During the full moon peak, the concealment area with the Morpheus potion must be exposed to the full moon, where it will be incorporated by the body and contact, within the body, with the Tego potion. Another Tego potion must be taken, one hour afterwards. The three Tegos and the Morpheus turned by the full moon will fuse and the body shape where the spell was performed will not change it's appearance to human eyes during a whole moon cycle."  
  
Lucius was puzzled. He had read the same thing the girls had read, but it was obvious they had seen something that was beyond him. He turned the page and read "Polyjuice Potion".  
  
A new Potion was described. Nothing more was added about the Tegomorphus. He reread the whole three pages again, this time, reading carefully also the potion ingredients and receipt to see if he could deduce something from it. But when he finished, he was just where he had started: puzzled.  
  
He tried to make some sense out of it.  
  
"From what I understood, this will keep any changing in her body concealed from human eyes. Could this be for Transfiguration? Well, I can ask Professor Dumbledore monday, in classes. But I didn't know we would be performing anything dangerous. No. It can't be. This is stupid. Why would she need it and not the rest of us? And then, there's this urgency, this panic they felt... No... this is much deeper. Let's see. What was she hiding? Her breasts, her bottom and her belly. Well, that's where usually women grow fat. No. Can't be. I can't believe a woman could be so vain as to hide some fattening." he thought with a shrug. "And she doesn't even eat that much. It has to be something else." He tried to change in his mind all those areas. Make them large, make them small, make them blue and hairy, make them grow boils and tentacles... And then he stopped. He stopped as a vague image started to form in his mind. Beyond a bit of fattening, is those parts grew large enough they could mean something else.  
  
He trembled in excitement, trying to recall all the details about the subject. And all the pieces started to fit. One by one, every piece of the big puzzle tangled and Lucius grinned as he looked at the whole picture.  
  
"Why, Andromeda... you're pregnant." 


	11. Chapter X Letter from Rabastan

Chapter X - Letter from Rabastan  
  
Lucius woke up Sunday morning with the greetings of some of his fellow Slytherins. The whole Quidditch team had come to see him that morning, together with Narcissa (who brought him a kind of fudge cream she did so well), Alice and some 5th and 6th years as well, like Crabbe, Goyle, Wilkes and, of course, some girls Lucius always attracted along the way.  
  
It was good to see that nothing had changed during his one-day absence. Narcissa was still naturally distant, though looking sideways to the girls who had joined them, making clear who was Lucius' rightful owner. Rod and Alice were still hand in hand, Rod a bit skulky, Alice smiling as always. They were being eyed by Bellatrix, who looked like she wanted to present one of the ward's beds to Alice. The other boys from the team looked happy to see him looking so cheerful. Crabbe and Goyle were still the thickest people alive and the girls were still concerned about him, with dreamy eyes. And he was, of course, as popular as ever.  
  
Mr. Ming joined them shortly after, and taking Lucius pulse and checking his pupils he finally reassured them all that he would be out by lunchtime.  
  
Half an hour later, they began to leave. Rodolphus stayed behind and Narcissa, taking a hint from him, kissed Lucius' forehead and left with Alice, leaving the two boys alone.  
  
"So" said Rod after a while "How are you really feeling?"  
  
"Good." said Lucius, unable to repress a smile.  
  
"You really seem fine to me. You're laughing again and you look completely recovered from yesterday's... uh..."  
  
"You know me. I'm not eas-"  
  
"Listen, " interrupted Rod. But his grin faded with a suspicious look around. He leaned on Lucius' hear even though there was no one around.  
  
"Rabastan wrote again. We need to talk."  
  
Lucius smile faded too. Rod took a piece of parchment from his robes and gave it for Lucius to read.  
  
"Dear Rod,  
  
I have talked about you and Lucius Malfoy to my Master as I had promised and I got his approval. He is ready to take you in. He wants to meet you personally, though. Remember the code. I will contact you shortly if you want to go through this to the end. Please, owl me giving me your final answer.  
  
If you decide not to go further, no hard feelings, we'll always be brothers in blood. But if you do, then I'll welcome you with both my arms and my heart open, for it is a great mission we are committing to. Rabastan PS- Send me the date of your next Hogsmeade weekend."  
  
"So" said Rod anxiously "are we in?"  
  
"I already told you so, Rod. I hope you're not stepping back." and he gave the letter back to him.  
  
"No!" he said with determination "I'm not stepping back! But we haven't given him a straight answer yet..."  
  
"Then write to him and tell him he can count on us."  
  
Rod's grin returned.  
  
"Then I'll meet you at lunchtime, Lucius." And he walked away out of the Hospital Wing, hiding the letter back in his robes.  
  
Two hours later Mr. Ming came to check on Lucius and told him he was ready to go. He took no more than ten minutes to dress the clean robes Rod had brought him. He took Moste Potente Potions from under his pillow and looked at Alexis. He headed for her bed, seated by her and put the book in her bedside table.  
  
He had spent half the night thinking about what he had found out about them. He had always been lucky all his life. Things just came up to him as if he was some sort of blessed creature. Wealth, good looks, cunning thought, friends, girlfriends, power and knowledge. Once again chance had favoured him. He had been witness to a spell he wouldn't forget so soon and he was now in possession of such powerful a secret. If the girls were willing to perform such a dangerous spell to hide their secret, where would they willing to go to shut him down?  
  
He grinned, looking at Alexis.  
  
"You were very clever."  
  
He rested his hand on her forehead. She was no longer burning. She was actually quite norm-  
  
Her hand seized his in a fraction of a second and she opened her eyes, coughing.  
  
"Merlin's beard!" he jumped.  
  
She coughed for a couple of seconds, unaware of how tight her grip was on his hand, and finally settled down. Only then did she notice Lucius. She turned to him and couldn't fake a screwed face.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Glad to see you too." he said, catching his breath again. "Care to let go of my hand?" Alexis eyed him suspiciously and slowly let go of him.  
  
"Why are you here?" she asked again.  
  
"Don't worry, I didn't come to see you." he said, massaging his fingers "I've been ill, too. I was just leaving."  
  
"Why are you seated here?"  
  
"Mr. Ming said you were not getting better. I just came to check."  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you, Malfoy, but I'm not gonna die yet."  
  
Lucius felt taken aback by this remark.  
  
"I wasn't expecting you to. I was actually hoping you might be feeling better."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Lucius opened his mouth to answer but closed it again. He wasn't going to waste his chance now. He would wait... for the right time. He just smiled and said "I'll be going then. Good to see you awake." and he stood up to leave. "By the way, I haven't seen Andromeda. Why hasn't she come to see you?"  
  
"I don't know." she said with a scowl. "I've been unconscious, remember?"  
  
"Oh, yes, yes. You were found in your common room, lying in the ground, burning with fever."  
  
"Yes" she said slowly. "It is possible." Then she seamed to be remembering why she had been there and looked very anxiously at Lucius "Who found me?"  
  
"One of the prefects." he said, wryly.  
  
"Do you know who it was? Could... could you ask him to come and see me?"  
  
"It was Cris. Do you want to thank her for finding you?" he smirked.  
  
"Yes" she smiled "If she hadn't found me I could have gotten much worse."  
  
Lucius smiled. "Certainly. I'll ask her to come." and he took the book from her bedside table. She noticed the book and her face grew pale.  
  
"Oh," he said "and you were found with this. Cris reckons you were trying to return it to the library. But don't worry, I'll do that for you."  
  
Alexis was torn between the feeling of demanding the book or pretending she didn't even recognised it. Due to her weakness, she couldn't hide her feelings as well and she noticed Lucius was reading right through her indecision.  
  
"Yes. I was going to. I was wondering if I should return it myself, since it was I who requested it."  
  
"Oh, no need. You don't know how long you will be here."  
  
Alexis tried to smile.  
  
"Than if you could be so kind as to return it for me, I would be very pleased."  
  
"My pleasure." he smirked and left. But even as he was crossing the Hospital Wing door, he could still feel her eyes on him, wondering how far did he know. 


	12. Chapter XI Arrangments

Chapter XI - Arrangements  
  
Lucius was greeted in the Great Hall with great enthusiasm by the Slytherins. Even though he had lost them the game he was too popular to loose his House fellow's admiration.  
  
At the Hufflepuff table, on the other hand, there were a lot of looks and grins, and a bolder boy even shouted "Thank you, Malfoy" before sitting down again at the sight of Rod's face. But Lucius was too busy to let any of those demonstrations get to him. He noticed, however, that Andromeda wasn't at the Ravenclaw table as he seated between Narcissa, who served his plate, and Rod, who nodded silently confirming that the owl had been sent.  
  
Bellatrix and Rod resumed their conversation about Quidditch almost at once, while MacNair, who was reading the sports newspaper "The Bludger" occasionally interrupted them to read aloud a new headline. Lucius ate quietly and as soon as he was finished, he excused himself from the table leaving the others looking at him in surprise. He usually joined them in their Quidditch meals discussions and rarely left the table alone.  
  
"You know" said MacNair "I don't think he is quite recovered yet."  
  
"He probably isn't feeling very good." said Narcissa, though her sister could see some apprehension in her eyes.  
  
And with good reason too, for in less than ten minutes, Lucius was by the Potion's Dungeon waiting for Cris.  
  
"My dearest-"  
  
"Hi." cut Lucius, coldly. "Do you know where Andromeda is?"  
  
Cris looked taken aback.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, she is my girlfriend's sister, you know, and I wondered why she wasn't at the table."  
  
"I didn't know that was why you had sent your lighting bolt." she said, pouting.  
  
"What could you except?" he asked, wryly "After that conversation with your little friend about-"  
  
"I thought you had forgiven me. I went to see you at the Hospital Wing. You were so-"  
  
"Ill? In need of love and support? Abandoned?  
  
"Yes... But still, you asked me to stay and all. I thought you had forgiven me. I... I didn't mean what I said." she pleaded "Please forgive me!"  
  
"We'll see about that. So where is Andromeda, do you know?"  
  
"She... she didn't show up for her meals yesterday either."  
  
"She didn't, did she?" he asked in interest. "And nobody has been looking for her?"  
  
"She isn't exactly missing. Marion, who is in her dormitory, said she has been sleeping a lot."  
  
"So that's why-" and he noticed Cris was looking very suspiciously at him. "Anyway, I just wanted to know." he shrugged.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Nothing you mind." he said.  
  
"You didn't want anything, did you? You just wanted an excuse to be with me and to tell me that you hadn't forgiven me."  
  
"I have to go. We might see each other later."  
  
"When? Where?" she asked, grabbing his robes before he could leave.  
  
Lucius looked rather coldly at her hand. When she let go, he just said "I'll call you" and he left.  
  
"Andromeda is in a deep sleep, probably a side effect of the spell. Alexis is ill. And I'm the luckiest bastard on earth, once more." he thought to himself, later that evening, in the Slytherin common room.  
  
It was late and the younger students were already going to bed. Bellatrix was talking to Rod again. MacNair was finishing some homework and Narcissa was exasperated helping Crabbe and Goyle with theirs. Finally she turned in and so did her sister and the remaining 6th years. Lucius, MacNair and Rodolphus were left alone.  
  
Rod seated next to Lucius in the sofa. "Charming, that sister in law of yours" he said with a sigh.  
  
"Bellatrix?" Lucius frowned  
  
"Bright, excellent Quidditch player. Pretty. The man who gets her will be a very lucky one indeed."  
  
Lucius didn't resist a laugh. "Don't let her hear you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because she's hoping you to be that man."  
  
Instead of laughing, which would be his usual reaction, Rod looked thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"Shame she's only fourteen." he said at last "Or I might just oblige her."  
  
Lucius shook his head "Shame that you have principles, my friend."  
  
"I don't." he said defensively, as if he had just been insulted. "But she is only a girl."  
  
"What about Alice?" said MacNair, packing his books.  
  
"Quite right, my friend." said Rod.  
  
"Alice is Alice." sighed Lucius "Like Narcissa is Narcissa. They are honourable girls. They are the ones we will marry one day. But in the mean time-"  
  
"Oh, shut up, Lucius!" said Rod, suddenly waking up from his half- fantasies. "You make me sick. You and all your girls. You look like a walking harem."  
  
"Lucky him." shrugged MacNair.  
  
"You make me sick. You say that you will marry Narcissa but you're just a fake. You don't even love her."  
  
"Nobody marries out of love." said Lucius, rather cynically.  
  
"Do you even know what love is?" asked Rod, sceptically.  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"I love Alice, ok? I wouldn't do that to her."  
  
Lucius shrugged. "I also love Narcissa. But I'm an altruist: why keep my loving skills strictly to one girl? It doesn't seem fair to the rest of them. And I do love them all, as a matter of fact."  
  
"You lust them all." argued Rod. "But you never loved anyone. And I'm going to bed."  
  
MacNair saw Rod leaving for the dormitory, shrugged and said "Don't mind him. He's just jealous because you can get any of them and he can't." And MacNair left as well. A few minutes later it was Lucius' turn. And if Rod was still awake when he entered the dormitory he certainly didn't show.  
  
Next morning, Rod was completely cheerful again. He threw his pillow into Lucius' bed to wake him up, laughed loudly and even told him about the weirdest dream he had with Bellatrix chasing him through the Great Hall to give him a pink heart that sang mushy songs loud as a Howler. And his mood didn't change until breakfast, when Lucius' owl left a letter in his hands. Lucius patted his eagle-owl and peered over Rod's shoulder.  
  
"Dear Rod,  
  
Your problem with date is normal. Six or seven hours of rest in bed is the best for hogshead you can arrange. But no alibi is good.  
  
Yours, Rabastan."  
  
Lucius looked puzzled. Rod, however, looked anxious. As soon as breakfast was over and they headed for classes, he took Lucius apart from the rest of the group and whispered "did you get the message?"  
  
"No. What was that about?"  
  
"It's a message in a code me and Rabastan use whenever there is something important. Read only every third words."  
  
Lucius took the little parchment he gave him and read  
  
"[b]Your[/b] problem with date is normal. Six or seven hours of rest in bed is the best for hogshead you can arrange. But no alibi is good. [i]Your date six hours in the hogshead arrange alibi.[/i]"  
  
"I sent him the date of the next Hogsmeade weekend, which is this week. So he wants us to meet him-"  
  
"At 6 o'clock, in the Hogshead. Tell him we'll be there, then."  
  
"And about the alibis?"  
  
"I'll take care of that." said Lucius with a firm look. And they entered the class before they became too suspicious.  
  
It was nearly dinner time when Lucius entered the Hospital Wing. Alexis was seated on the bed, drinking some pumpkin juice. He walked slowly up to her. She noticed him approaching only when he was just a few steps away.  
  
"You again?" she asked.  
  
Lucius seated without answering.  
  
"Having dinner, I see." he said, looking at a bowl of soup by her bed.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I returned the book." he said casually.  
  
"Good." she said uneasy.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"Uh... better... I think. But what are you doing here?"  
  
Lucius took a piece of parchment from inside his robes.  
  
"I came to bring you our DADA homework. I thought you might want it."  
  
Alexis looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"No, I mean why did you really come here?"  
  
"I told you. Here." and he left the parchment on the little table by her bed.  
  
"Since when are you so nice?"  
  
"I am nice, Alexis." he said. "But if you think that's not enough I can make up an excuse. How about... that I came to see you? You want me to tell you I came to see you? I came to see you. There. Happy now?"  
  
"Hum... Nope. I think I'd rather believe you came to give me homework." but she grinned when she caught him scowling. "Uh... Thanks, then." She said after a moment.  
  
"So, do you know when you're getting out?"  
  
"Mr. Ming told me I might be out by tomorrow. But he is still very apprehensive. He says I didn't react well to his potion. He said you reacted a lot better. So I guess you were telling me the truth. You were ill too."  
  
"Yes. Well, gotta go have my own dinner. I'll see you around Alexis."  
  
He stood up and turned to leave. But her voice stopped him.  
  
"Thanks, Malfoy."  
  
He grinned without facing her.  
  
"Sure. See you."  
  
And left.  
  
Just as he was crossing the Hospital Wing's doors Alexis noticed that she had just had a normal conversation with Malfoy.  
  
"That should be a sure sign that I'm still ill." she thought to herself and returned to her soup. 


End file.
